What can excessive CPU usage in Task Manager indicate?

Excessive CPU usage in Task Manager typically indicates that a specific process or application is consuming an unusually high level of resources. This situation often arises from a poorly optimized program, a resource-intensive task, or even a potential issue within that application, such as a memory leak or infinite loop. By monitoring CPU usage, users can identify which processes are using the most resources, allowing them to take necessary actions such as closing the offending application or investigating further.

Other options involve possible conditions but do not directly correlate with the immediate observation of excessive CPU usage. Excessive CPU usage does not definitively point to hardware failure, as such issues would typically manifest in other ways. Likewise, while a corrupted operating system could lead to various performance issues, it isn't the most immediate cause when CPU usage spikes can be directly traced to specific processes. Similarly, insufficient RAM may contribute to overall performance problems but is not the primary indicator reflected in CPU metrics.